190: Why so many teachers are leaving, and why others stay.

The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast

Jennifer Gonzalez

Education, Teaching, Instruction, Classroommanagement, Educationreform

4.8 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 13 May 2022

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Teachers are leaving the classroom in larger numbers than ever, and many are breaking contracts mid-year just to get out. What can school leaders do to stop this? What makes one school lose teachers in the double digits, while others manage to hold on to almost everyone? In this episode, we'll hear the stories of four teachers who left their jobs in the past year. Then we'll hear the words of hundreds of teachers who stayed, and what administrators in those schools did differently.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Jennifer Gonzalez welcoming you to episode 190 of the Cult of Pedagogy Podcast.
0:05.3	In this episode, we will be exploring the reasons why so many teachers are leaving the profession
0:10.8	right now. And what's happening in the schools where they have decided to stay.
0:15.2	Over the past year, the Internet has been full of stories of teachers leaving teaching.
0:33.3	A recent NEA survey revealed that 55% of currently employed teachers are seriously thinking about
0:40.1	leaving their jobs, and that number is even higher for teachers of color. These numbers have
0:46.4	spiked sharply over the 21-22 school year. In August of 2021, only 37% of those surveyed said they
0:55.4	were thinking about leaving. Even more alarming, more teachers than ever are breaking their contracts
1:01.8	and leaving in the middle of the school year. A decision many thought they would never make.
1:06.8	It's no exaggeration to say that a big shift has occurred, and it happened very, very recently.
1:14.4	If you are in a leadership position, a school administrator, a district superintendent,
1:20.8	or even an official at the state level, and you're concerned about this shift,
1:25.7	which you definitely should be, I'm hoping to offer something helpful with this episode.
1:31.4	We'll start by listening to the stories of four teachers who recently made the decision to
1:37.2	leave their jobs and finding the common threads between them. These are the cautionary tales,
1:43.3	the ones from which we can learn what not to do. Think of this part as how to lose a teacher in
1:49.4	one school year or less. Part two will be the stories of teachers who stayed in the administrative
1:55.8	decisions that made this possible. For this section, I looked specifically for teachers who stayed
2:01.6	because of administrative support. At this point in history, I refuse to gaslight teachers into
2:08.4	doing it for the kids or being some kind of heroes for mankind. We are so beyond that.
2:14.3	The reality is, teaching can be a satisfying, sustainable career, if and only if policies are
2:22.5	put in place to make it so. The policies are possible and they are being put in place in small
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